Dominant Harrison Surges To Dallas Title

  • Posted: Feb 06, 2017

Dominant Harrison Surges To Dallas Title

Feb052017

Revisit the week that was on the ATP Challenger Tour as we applaud the achievements of those on the rise and look ahead to who’s in action in the week to come

A LOOK BACK

RBC Tennis Championships Of Dallas (Dallas, Texas): Top seed Ryan Harrison came out on top in an all-American battle against second seed and #NextGenATP star Taylor Fritz, firing a backhand winner on match point to prevail 6-3, 6-3. Harrison didn’t drop a set throughout the week and becomes the first No. 1 seed to win the Dallas title in their 20 years on the ATP Challenger Tour. He now has four ATP Challenger Tour titles, but this is his first since January 2015 in Happy Valley, Australia. He’s projected to move up to No. 62 on Monday in the Emirates ATP Rankings and has jumped nearly 100 spots since July.

Fritz was looking for his first title since January 2016 in Happy Valley, but his week in Dallas will still be valuable in boosting his standing in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan.

More: View Current Emirates ATP Race To Milan Rankings

Caterpillar Burnie International (Burnie, Australia): Omar Jasika picked up his first-ever ATP Challenger Tour title by defeating Blake Mott 6-2, 6-2 in an all-Aussie final. The Tecnifibre player becomes the first teen winner this year on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The 19 year old has excelled in Australia this season, finishing runner-up last month at the Challenger in Happy Valley. Jasika is projected to move to No. 258 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday, jumping more than 100 spots since the beginning of the season.

Mott has also had an outstanding start to 2017, coming through qualifying at the Australian Open to reach his first Grand Slam main draw.

Open BNP Paribas Banque De Bretagne (Quimper, France): Top seed Adrian Mannarino lived up to his billing and delighted the local crowd with a 6-4, 6-4 win over eighth seed Peter Gojowczyk of Germany. Mannarino extended his win streak in Challenger finals to eight straight, having not lost a title match since 2013. The 28 year old now has 13 ATP Challenger Tour titles and picks up his second winner’s trophy of 2017, having won this past month in Noumea, New Caledonia.

Gojowczyk was looking for his second Challenger title of the year, having prevailed this past month in Happy Valley.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Jasika: “It’s No. 1 for me. I’ve been playing some great tennis. Hopefully I can keep the ball rolling and get another title under my belt. “

“I had a really good pre-season training block and I think I’m physically fitter and mentally better.”

Mannarino: “I’m really satisfied about my week. It was very pleasant for me and the public was really involved. I played good tennis and finally won the tournament.”

“I really liked the tournament. The organisation did a great job for all of the players and it was really nice to be here.”

A LOOK AHEAD

There are three Challengers on the calendar this week, with a new $100,000 event in San Francisco, California, taking top billing. A pair of American #NextGenATP stars hold the top two spots, with Frances Tiafoe as the top seed and Fritz looking for another big run as the second seed. Several other local #NextGenATP stars are in the draw including fourth seed Jared Donaldson, Reilly Opelka and Michael Mmoh, along with another contender for Milan in Sweden’s Elias Ymer.

More: Learn About Next Gen ATP Finals In Milan

The $75,000 tournament in Launceston, Australia, is back for the third straight year. Go Soeda of Japan is the top seed and Jan Satral of the Czech Republic is the second seed. American #NextGen ATP star Noah Rubin is the seventh seed, while Jasika looks for his second straight Challenger title and Mott aims to defend his crown in Launceston.

Lastly, another new tournament is on the schedule with the $75,000 event in Budapest, Hungary. Lukas Lacko of Slovakia is the top seed and Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine is the second seed. Marius Copil of Romania, who won the Challenger held this past October in Budapest, is the third seed. Other notable names in the draw include #NextGenATP star and seventh seed Duckhee Lee of Korea, rising teenager Casper Ruud of Norway, and former Top 10 player Jurgen Melzer of Austria.

View Draws & Watch Free Live Streams

ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: The ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

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